The Search for Souji's Girlfriend
by Angevon
Summary: The girls really wanna know who Souji's 'girlfriend' is and bother Yosuke about it. Repeatedly. [SoujiXYosuke]


[AN: This is part of a series - please see my profile for the rest!

I had so much fun writing this, you have no idea. I still grin when I think about it.

Spoilers for December and January (Golden).

Thanks to Soma for coming up with that ending! And for laughing with me.]

* * *

"Yosukeeeeee! Is Sensei in love?"

Yosuke spluttered and dropped the can of The Natural in his hand. "W-wha... Teddie? Oh, don't tell me the girls told you about that..."

Teddie's overlarge eyes were shining, as they tended to do when he was excited—which was pretty much always. "Sensei's heart, stolen by a pretty princess! He draws hearts all day, so it must be True Love! ...Does this mean he gets to score?"

"Ugh..." said Yosuke. He wiped up the soda spill from the top of his desk with an old T-shirt. That L-word was something he wouldn't touch with a ten-foot long Suspicious Pole.

"But who's the lucky lady?" Teddie continued innocently. "Do you know? Rise-chan thinks it's Emma-chan."

"Yeah..." Yosuke said absently. He sat back in his desk chair and rubbed his face. This was going to be troublesome, but hell, anything involving Teddie was.

"You know!? It is Emma-chan!?" Teddie sprang forward, getting in Yosuke's face.

Yosuke pushed him back to hold him away at arm's length, but Teddie's opposing force ended up pushing him and his desk chair back until he hit the wall. "What? No, it's not Marie-chan. We haven't even seen her since December."

Shit. Teddie wasn't stupid. He'd just admitted he knew.

"Tell meeeee," Teddie squealed.

He sighed and tried his best to explain. "Souji doesn't want anyone to know, all right? It's really hard for him as it is. That's why I can't tell. Even you." It wasn't exactly true. It was Yosuke who wanted to keep their relationship a secret so badly...

He could see that Teddie was thinking hard about this by the way the corners of his eyes crinkled. Yosuke wondered what stunning conclusion the bear would come to.

Teddie lifted his head. "Okay. Can I have a Topsicle now?"

Yosuke scowled. "It's winter! Why do you want one now?"

"Because the man doesn't sell them in winter even though I asked him SO nicely!" Teddie crossed his arms and pouted.

Yosuke promised to buy a box of Topsicles from Junes's frozen foods section the next time he worked. It was the least he could do, since it had changed the topic and all...

* * *

"So, uh," Chie said. "Do you really know who Souji-kun's crushing on?"

Yosuke groaned. "Not you too..."

They were eating lunch together at the school's rooftop. Souji was lunching elsewhere with Yukiko. Chie had some beef-flavored instant ramen and Yosuke had a cheap bento box he'd purchased from a vending machine.

"Well, Teddie said you knew!" Chie proclaimed. "And you can't fault a girl for being curious!"

"I can and will. When the hell did Teddie tell you? We only talked about it last night."

"He has a phone," Chie reminded him.

"I should never have gotten him one," Yosuke declared with a sigh.

"Well... Do you know?" Chie asked again.

"Chie, even if I did, would I tell you?"

"Yes?"

Yosuke deflated. "Just... think about it. If Souji has a girlfriend, and he hasn't told anyone, it means he doesn't want anyone to know, right? And why would he want that?"

Chie's brow furrowed. "I don't know..."

"Just think about it. Use that brain of yours! Souji is super popular, right? And the girl he picks... She's going to be targeted by lots of jealous girls wishing she were the one. It wouldn't be pretty."

"Oh, I didn't think about that," Chie admitted. "So Souji's keeping it a secret to protect her."

"Exactly."

They sat in companionable silence for a few long moments.

"Still... I won't tell anyone, so who is it, Yosuke?"

Yosuke smacked his face with his palm.

* * *

"Yosuke-senpai~~~"

Yosuke nearly jumped. It was after class, and he was at his shoe locker, getting ready to leave and go to work, when that angelic voice floated towards him. "Oh, Rise-san. What's up?" He shifted nervously. Even though Rise was on the Investigation Team, they'd never really interacted much. Her talking to him like this was highly unusual.

Rise bounded cheerfully towards him, the coppery curls of her pigtails bouncing and catching the light. "Hey~~ Are you heading out? Let's walk together."

One of the several boys following Rise—part of her mobile fan club—gave him a nasty look, but he ignored it. "Well, I'm heading to Junes, but you can come along, yeah."

Yosuke watched her closely while they walked out the school gates. He'd been a fan of Risette since he'd first heard her music what felt like ages ago, but Rise herself... well, he was uncomfortable around her, mainly because of her massive crush on Souji. She'd latched onto him like, like... like Teddie to a Topsicle, or something... Damn, he'd have to buy some Topsicles today, he'd promised...

"So, Yosuke-senpai..." she began when they reached a quiet street. "A little birdie told me _you_ know who Senpai's girlfriend is." She smiled at him, so perky and bubbly and... fake...

"Oh..."

He should have known there was no way that Rise had wanted to walk with him because she simply wanted to walk with him. Of course there was an ulterior motive at work.

"You don't have to tell me who," Rise went on, "but maybe tell me about her?"

"I've never met her," Yosuke said. He walked a little bit faster now, not exactly to get away from the conversation, but...

Rise easily matched his pace. "Surely Senpai told you something...?"

He thought about it. Maybe he could mess with her, just a little. "She's a fan of yours," he told her. "Of Risette."

"Oh..." Rise seemed troubled by that, but then she cheered up. "She has good taste, then! That's good, right?"

Yosuke felt it keenly—Rise was really upset about this, the idea that Souji had a girlfriend. He almost felt bad for her...

...almost.

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "I really don't know much more about it than you do. He's pretty good at hiding stuff... I never did find the goods in his room." Wait, Rise didn't need to know about that! "Err, like, Dojima-san never knew about the TV World the whole time, you know? It was hard enough to keep it from my own parents, and they aren't cops." Explaining to his mom his sudden urge to do his own laundry—so that she'd never see his torn and bloodstained clothes—had been really weird, that was for sure.

Rise had a finger on her chin; she was thinking. "I suppose... but why would Senpai hide something like that from us? Is he worried that we won't like her? I just can't imagine... that after all we've been through, it isn't... one of us."

He'd never thought about that before. That Souji could choose to date someone 'normal'—or at least, someone without a Persona, someone who knew nothing of the TV World—and it didn't seem right at all. He could agree with her on that.

"Don't worry," he told her. "I-I mean," he hastily amended, "Souji wouldn't choose just anyone. That's a guarantee!"

Her eyes narrowed, and then widened. "Thanks, Yosuke-senpai. But I have to _know._ I'll find out who it is, just you wait!"

When he reached Junes, Yosuke was feeling more than a little worried...

* * *

The next day he was craving a steak skewer because Chie mentioned them in class, so he joined the short line at Souzai Daigaku after school to get one. He was on his own; he hadn't wanted to invite Chie because she'd probably make him pay somehow, and Souji was at basketball practice or band practice, Yosuke forgot which one but whatever, the point was Souji wasn't available today and _he was hungry._

"Yo, senpai."

Yosuke turned slightly to see a tall and muscular form sauntering up to him in the line. "Oh, hey Kanji," he greeted.

"You busy?"

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders, which was kind of hard to do with his arms crossed. "Not really... What's up?"

Kanji didn't mince words. "Wanna talk to you 'bout somethin'."

Yosuke stepped forward in line as the next customer was served. "Yeah, okay. Let me get some food first, all right?"

"A'ight." Kanji sat down at the table near the stall and waited for him. When he finished ordering and received his food, Yosuke sat across from him.

Yosuke bit off a piece of the skewer and asked Kanji what he wanted with his mouth full.

Kanji's naturally hard expression softened somewhat. "Rise was sayin'... Souji-senpai's got a girl. I was wonderin'..."

Yosuke swallowed the steak in his mouth and waved the skewer around. "Dude, I don't know who it is, if anyone, why won't you guys stop asking, geez!"

Kanji's steely gaze didn't waver. "_I was wonderin'_ if I should, maybe, knit something that he could give her."

Yosuke bit his tongue.

"Somethin' cute, like a flower or a kitten," Kanji went on. "Girls dig cute things, you know?"

"Y-yeah," Yosuke managed. "That's, uh, really really nice of you, Kanji, but I don't think it'll be necessary."

"Oh... really?" Kanji sounded kind of disappointed.

"You taught Souji to knit, right? Because he already made something. He showed it to me. It was, umm, a bunny..."

"Oh," said Kanji. "Oh! Sweet! I gotta ask him to show me. Eh, if he hasn't already given it to the girl."

"Uhh, yeah..."

After Kanji left, Yosuke brought out his cell phone frantically texted Souji to tell him not to show Kanji the little bunny Yosuke doll he'd knitted.

* * *

Yosuke was having lunch alone today, or that was the plan, anyway—Souji was tied up with Naoki Konishi, and Yosuke didn't begrudge poor Naoki that at all.

However, he heard the telltale clang of the stairwell door opening, and sighed when he saw a slight figure in a blue cap step out onto the roof.

"All right, Naoto," Yosuke said when she approached. "Who roped you into this? Was it Rise?"

The detective had the decency to stiffen at his accusation—he was obviously on the mark. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean. I only wished to have lunch with... you..."

The puzzled look present on Naoto's face by the time she reached the end of her statement made Yosuke laugh out loud. They both knew how unlikely it was that she'd go out of the way to seek him, of all people, out for lunch. "Yeah, whatever," he said. "Have a seat."

They ate in relative silence, the only noise the clattering of their chopsticks as they both ate from their commercially-packaged bento boxes. Naoto was a very prim eater, he noticed, wielding said chopsticks with skill and dexterity. Her posture was uninviting, her shoulders hunched stiffly against the cool winter breeze, and she obviously did not want to be here, but was enduring it anyway. He guessed it was for Rise. From what Yosuke knew of her, Naoto usually spent lunch by a computer in the library, doing research on whatever case she was working on.

"Aren't you going to ask?" Yosuke said when they'd both mostly finished their food.

Naoto sighed. "I suppose I must." She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, fingers tucked under her chin, and turned those silver-gray eyes on him with disguised curiosity. Under that direct gaze, Yosuke found himself squirming despite knowing it was a huge tell. If anyone could put it all together, it would be Naoto. He had to be really careful here...

Maybe he could just deny that he knew and keep his mouth shut. Yeah, that sounded good. "I really don't know anything," he declared.

"I can believe that." Naoto chuckled.

"Okay, that was just mean, Naoto." He couldn't think of a comeback, either... "You know what I meant."

"Perhaps you could elaborate...?" She waved her hand to indicate he should go on.

Yosuke sighed. "Look, if Souji likes someone... I know we all care about him, we all gotta make sure it's a good match for him... But I think... We're already up in his business, right? Maybe this is something we should just let happen."

Naoto was watching him thoughtfully. It was kind of unnerving... He thought of saying more, but wasn't that a way detectives got information? By having their victims fill in awkward silences...

"I see," Naoto said finally. She smiled at him, confident and unguarded. "I understand completely. In this, we must think of Souji's happiness. I'll pursue this no longer—thank you for speaking with me, Yosuke-senpai."

"Oh, uhh, thanks for being the first to let it go." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Naoto nodded. "I'll tell Rise-san, but I have my doubts that she will accept my decision. Please be prepared."

"Yeah... You know, you can be really cool when you want to, Naoto. I mean it!"

She seemed embarrassed by the compliment. "W-well, be that as it may be, I should be going..."

Yosuke watched her go, feeling much better than he did before they'd spoken.

* * *

Yosuke should have known it would come down to this: a no-holds-barred interrogation.

Rise had forced Souji to come to the Junes Food Court with her and Chie, and Chie had towed Yosuke along as well. The four of them were seated at the long square Junes table, the one with bench seating; Yosuke was situated to Souji's right, and the girls were together across from them.

"Senpai," Rise began. "We asked to meet up because we're worried about you."

"Worried about me?" Souji seemed puzzled. He glanced at Yosuke for a hint as to why, but Yosuke couldn't think of a way to convey it, so he just pretended he hadn't noticed. He hadn't really had a chance to tell Souji about the girls' persistent questioning; it had started only a few days ago...

"Well, yeah, Souji-kun," said Chie. "We're all really happy for you, but we just can't stand not knowing."

"I'll tell you, then," said Souji. "My favorite Topsicle flavor is the half-and-half berry one."

"Dude," Yosuke said with an unhappy grimace. "That's not what they want."

"Oh." Souji looked crestfallen.

Rise clapped her hands together. "Senpai! We want to know who your girlfriend is! We really want to meet her! We promise we'll welcome her."

"We won't scare her away!" Chie added. "We can all go out for lunch together, and I won't order a steak, haha..."

"Yeah, right," Yosuke said, but the sarcastic response was just rote; his heart wasn't into it. Chie kicked him under the table anyway.

"So please stop keeping it a secret, Senpai!" Rise pleaded.

"Ah," said Souji, and he tilted his head in a thoughtful pose. "You think I have a girlfriend."

"_Yes,_ Senpai!" said Rise.

"I don't." Souji smiled at them, but there wasn't that much humor in it.

Rise frowned. "Senpai. We _know_ you have one. There's no reason to deny it."

"Those hearts you were drawing were pretty serious, Souji-kun," said Chie.

Souji sighed. "The hearts again...?"

"Yeah, really!" Yosuke agreed. "...Maybe you should never have drawn them."

Souji seemed aggrieved, but the girls didn't notice. "Besides that," Chie continued, "we've all noticed you've been happier and more, well, daydreamy than you normally are, Souji-kun. Not that it proves anything, but if you are happy with someone, you know you don't need to hide it from us. We're your friends."

"_Tell us,_ Senpai," Rise begged.

"It couldn't be," said Souji, "that I'm just happy in general because Nanako-chan and my uncle are back from the hospital? That I'm happy we stopped Ameno-sagiri and dispelled the fog? That I'm happy that I got top grades in class once again?"

"Naoto-kun wouldn't help us, but we did some investigating," Chie admitted slowly. "We talked to Nanako-chan, and she totally believes you're in love with someone, but she wouldn't say who."

"_You talked to Nanako-chan!?_" Yosuke squeaked. It never occurred to him that they'd go that far... Then something far more important became apparent. "Wait... _Nanako-chan knows who!?_"

Souji's shoulders rumbled, and he snorted loudly and began to laugh, slowly at first, and then with increasing intensity.

"We knew she'd be sensitive to anything involving Souji-kun," Chie explained. "And we thought we'd hit the jackpot, but..."

"We asked her who," said Rise, "but she wouldn't say! It was _sooo_ aggravating."

"She made that little zipping motion over her mouth, you know, like her lips are sealed." Chie demonstrated the motion and Yosuke watched in horrified fascination.

"Well, that's good at least," Yosuke muttered. "I can't believe it... Nanako-chan... knows." _We were doing so good,_ he thought. _But dammit, Souji, I told you kids picked up on things like that so quickly!_

"So, umm, obviously we know it's a secret," Chie went on, "and, well, Rise-chan is dying to know..."

Souji was trying hard to control his laughter, but he only managed to start gasping heavily for breath instead.

"It's not funny, Senpai!" Rise cried. "We want to know because we care about you, so please just tell us!"

Souji wiped the tears from his eyes, finally calming down. "There's just... there's nothing to tell."

Rise grabbed his wrist from across the table, and pulled him forward. "Senpai. We—"

"Leave him alone!" Yosuke lifted himself from his seat, his palms down on the table, and scowled at them.

The girls turned their heads to look at him, but Rise did not let go of Souji. "Yosuke?" said Chie.

"I've told you both that it's really none of your business," he said. "And you still won't drop it? Will you stop and look at yourself, Rise?"

"Easy for you to say, when you know who it is!" Rise growled and threw Souji's hand away so that she could sit back, cross her arms, and pout. "Senpai's oh-so-important partner. Senpai, how could you tell him and not us?"

Souji pretended not to hear. He brought out some origami paper from his pocket and began to concentrate on folding a paper crane.

"Duh," said Yosuke. "Because I'm a guy. You girls are never going to understand. When it comes to something like this, it's just better if you don't know."

"We're going to find out!" Rise declared. She grabbed the stack of origami paper so that Souji couldn't make any more cranes, so that he had to give her his attention. But instead of looking at her, Souji stared at the spot where the paper had been with a careful, but blank expression.

Yosuke sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation. "Souji doesn't have a girlfriend. All right? End of story."

"You're really going to keep saying that? You as much told us that he does..." Chie frowned.

"Senpai, just tell us already!"

"God, you girls are so _dense._" Yosuke couldn't help it. He was getting pissed off, and he suspected there was no other way to end this. Even if he walked away from them now, they'd continue bothering Souji another day. Souji might not crack for a long time, but... "Fine. Fine! Yeah, I know who it is."

Rise fixed her eyes on him, her expression somewhat unpleasant, but brighter than it had been a moment ago.

Yosuke tugged on Souji's arm, pulled him in, and kissed him right on the mouth. He then glared at Rise confidently. "There. It's me, all right?" _Take that!_ he thought. "He doesn't have a girlfriend. He has a _boyfriend._"

Rise hissed and smacked Yosuke so hard from across the table that he fell heavily into Souji, and they both tumbled off the bench seat and onto the ground.

"Senpai is _not gay,_" Rise screamed, "and if you are, Yosuke, well, _nobody really cares._ But you are going to leave Senpai out of it!"

Somehow in the fall Yosuke ended up flat on Souji's chest. He wanted to scramble away and pretend that he hadn't just outed himself in front of his friends, but damn, he was pissed, and...

...and the look on Souji's face was captivating. Souji was smiling at him with loving approval.

Rise had walked around the table to continue to yell at him, but he didn't hear any of her words.

Souji reached up, put his hand around the back of Yosuke's head, and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

...and nothing else mattered.

* * *

When Yosuke came back down to earth, Rise was nowhere to be seen, and Chie was backing away with her hand over her mouth, but she didn't seem to be too surprised, like it all just suddenly made sense to her. Of course it did. Chie had her moments, but she wasn't stupid. The problem instead was whether or not she approved.

...Which would have to be sorted out later because she totally took off when she saw Yosuke looking back at her.

Souji pulled him back down, not for a kiss, but just to put his head against his chest, to hold him tightly on the ground there. "Yosuke," he murmured. "I'm sorry it came down to this. It's my fault, with the hearts."

"The secret wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway, if Nanako-chan knows." Yosuke sighed.

"I promise I didn't tell her..." Souji murmured.

"I know. She's just a smart girl. You should be proud."

Souji rubbed his back affectionately.

"Besides, Souji... I kind of liked the hearts..." Yosuke admitted. He buried his face in Souji's shirt.

"Ah, there he is, Kanji-ku—" Naoto's voice trailed off.

Yosuke looked up and saw the two approaching, but he didn't even bother trying to get off of Souji.

"—n," Naoto finished. "Well. I see my suspicion is confirmed..." She then took Kanji's arm and firmly pulled him back the way they had come.

"Her 'suspicion'?" Yosuke muttered after she and Kanji were gone. "I _thought_ she'd given up her questioning too easily the other day... Oh, and I guess you can show Hopsuke to Kanji now." Yosuke sighed again.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you what that text was about," said Souji.

They rested comfortably—or uncomfortably, in Souji's case. The concrete couldn't be too pleasant on his back—in that awkward position together for a while in silence.

"Tomorrow is going to be interesting," Souji said eventually.

"No kidding," said Yosuke.

"Are you okay?" Souji asked while ruffling through Yosuke's hair with his hand.

"I'm..." Yosuke swallowed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I... I like you Souji. I'm not ashamed of it."

"I'm glad... We'll work through this together," Souji promised. "Like everything else."

"Yeah, partner." Yosuke looked him in the eyes. "We will."


End file.
